by Matthew Plache
If I were running for President my slogan would be, Make America like New Hampshire. In truth, it’s just another way of saying Make America Great, since New Hampshire is such a great place to live and work and raise a family, but I believe it’s fitting. If all of America were like New Hampshire then all of America would be great.
Just look at New Hampshire’s rankings compared to other States: We’re ranked No.1 in K-12 public education. We have great healthcare and long life expectancy. We have very low rates of violent crime and gun homicides, while having constitutional carry and a very strong natural right of self-defense. We have a very strong State Constitution and Bill of Rights, and tremendous religious and personal freedoms. We have a very clean natural environment and beautiful mountains, lakes and streams. We have low taxes and we don’t believe in income or sales taxes. We welcome legal immigrants and they contribute greatly to our State. We have respect and equality for women and minorities and people of all races and orientations. We have many small family farms and businesses that are the life-blood of our communities. We have a strong DIY attitude built on hard work and stewardship, and minimal government interference. We believe in helping those who can’t help themselves and providing assistance to those in need. And we are ranked no.1 in opportunity.
Are we without problems? Of course not. We’ve been hit hard by the opioid epidemic, we have more than our share of mental health issues and suicides, and there are continuing issues in our child welfare system. We are addressing these problems in a bi-partisan way and we have the ability and determination to fix them. Overall, the good far outweighs the bad and it’s appropriate to say NH is a great and unique place.
Based on her recent letters and voting record, it would seem that Representative DesMarais doesn’t agree. She wants an income tax and voted for one. She believes State agencies should have more hands-on input in the running of our small businesses. She wants to restrict law-abiding citizens’ access to firearms. She wants towns such as Wolfeboro to become donor towns again. And she believes our K-12 schools are failing in many rural areas, to the point where drastic measures are needed.
That’s why Representative DesMarais worked with her party comrades in the legislature this year to pass a veritable orgy of legislation designed to make NH more like New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and even Chicago. If not for Governor Sununu and the veto power he wields under our State Constitution, the fundamental fabric of our State would have been irreparably altered by Representative DesMarais’ votes.
Fortunately for all of us, our Governor stood firm against this onslaught of bad legislation. Representative DesMarais complains that the Governor’s record number of vetoes amounts to one man overriding the will of the elected majority. She seems to forget that Governor Sununu himself was elected by a majority of voters. And she apparently forgets that our State Constitution not only provides for a legislative body, but also an executive with a Constitutional veto power.
Fortunately, the wise men who framed our State Constitution back in the 1780s understood that sometimes a strong executive is needed to rein in an out-of-control legislature, which is what we had this year. If Representative DesMarais doesn’t want the Governor to exercise his veto power so effectively, then she and her party comrades shouldn’t swamp him with so much bad legislation, and they shouldn’t work so hard to change the unique fabric of our great State to make us more like New Jersey, New York and other such places.
That’s why I say, Make America Like New Hampshire, not the other way around.